Timbers sleepwalk through match, bounced out of U.S. Open Cup by Galaxy 1 to 0

The Portland Timbers and the Los Angeles Galaxy prepare for their match in the 5th round of the U.S. Open Cup. There were lots of different faces within the starting elevens for both teams.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Nothing conjures up
emotional reactions from Timbers fans more than the mere mention of the U.S.
Open Cup tournament. While the competition has been staged for over 100 years in various formats, the Timbers history in the tournament during their USL tenure and the MLS era has run the gamut of collective emotions. From flying Flounder flares to controversy
during penalties, Cal FC, Hollywood United, a Merlo Field monsoon, a Starfire
meltdown and trouble in Utah, it's a truly memorable competition but there is
always an unknown element that rears up at some point. After dispatching San Jose in the fourth round of competition earlier
this month, the path of the Timbers was crystal clear: host
the Los Angeles Galaxy in round 5, and the winner would host the victor of the
Real Salt Lake/Seattle Sounders match the preceding day. With plenty to play
for but with a careful eye looking towards the busy July of MLS fixtures,
Portland put forth a mix of experience and youth with the hope of advancing.
The plan ran aground when the Galaxy tallied a goal in the 5th
minute off a defensive lapse, and despite having nearly 90 minutes of
additional soccer to play, Portland was unable to match the tally and were eliminated from the tournament
by a 1 to 0 score. The Timbers
now turn their attention to MLS play with two consecutive road matches to start
July before a long home stretch later in the month followed up by CONCACAF
Champions League fixtures starting in August.

With Jake Gleeson
nursing a hamstring injury that puts his availability in Colorado for the July
4 league match, Timbers Coach Caleb Porter turned to Wade Hamilton, one of the
team's 2016 MLS Super Draft picks, to start in goal with young Kendall McIntosh
signed to an emergency contract as the backup.
With the inexperience in goal, Porter opted for the four most
experienced defenders that were healthy to start: Taylor Peay and Zarek
Valentin as the fullbacks with Jermaine Taylor and Nat Borchers at center
back. The club and fans were excited to
have Darlington Nagbe back from Copa America duty, and he was inserted into the
starting 11 as one of the three midfielders along with Jack Jewsbury as the
holding mid and Ned Grabavoy at the other wing.
Playing with three forwards, Porter chose the trio of Jack Barmby,
Darren Mattocks and Jack McInerney to start, but he had Fanendo Adi, Lucas
Melano and Diego Valeri on the bench if needed with Diego Chara, Amobi Okugo or
Chris Klute available to help the defense.
J-Mac has been on a solid roll this season, Mattocks has shown well on
occasion and Barmby was a huge component of the win over San Jose, so the
choices seemed to make sense with a league match lurking early next week.

If there was a player that showed spunk and determination on the evening, it was forward Jack Barmby. He engineered two closes misses on shots in his 65 minutes of play, but perhaps the opportunity he rues the most was in the 35th minute. Jack was clear on goal off a wonderful pass, but the ball got stuck between his legs and he couldn't muster a shot attempt.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

If there was another
organization that could empathize in some respects to problems with the U.S.
Open Cup, it would be the Timbers' opponent, as the Galaxy has suffered several
defeats in the early stages. However, much of that appears to be due to the
organization not putting importance on the competition as evident by their
lineup choices. Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena
did use several young players in his lineup, including Academy product Raul
Mendiola, young goalkeeper Clement Diop, Galaxy Dos striker Jack McBean, and
defender Dave Romney, but Arena did put several veterans out there, including
recent signing Ashley Cole, hulking center back Jelle Van Damme, playmaking
midfielders Baggio Husidic and Jeff Larentowicz, defender A.J. DeLaGarza and
striker Sebastian Lleget. Arena's plan
on the road usually centers upon scoring an early goal, then using physical
defense, offensive tactics and other moves to milk the clock. Suffice to say that by the time this match
was completed, Arena's plan had worked like a charm and the Timbers were left
to wonder what happened.

First Half Highlights: The crowd likely hadn't warmed their seats before the home side had
fallen behind on a turnover, although the Timbers were able to get a few
chances for McInerney early. With Taylor making a poor pass on the left, the
Galaxy tried to move it about until Jewsbury disrupted the progress. Midfielder Emmanuel Boateng decided to change
directions to the right with a cross, but nobody wearing green thought to cover
the target, Mendiola, until he ended up with the ball outside the box and
moving back left to center. Before they
could mark, Mendiola hit a spinning shot that fluttered past the defensive line
and Hamilton to put the Galaxy on top 1 to 0.
While the Galaxy had a few other chances, it was the Timbers that looked
more dangerous - or appeared to have danger.
Barmby curled a shot that the defense deflected to Diop in the 18th
minute, but he was kicking himself in the 35th minute for missing on
a critical 1 on 1 with Diop where he got a pass clear of the defense, but he
couldn't get a handle on the ball in time.
McInerney forced Diop to come off his line on a through ball in the box
from Mattocks in the 26th minute, but the Galaxy keeper swept the
threat away in the last minute, although he did have a scared look a minute
later when Nagbe pulled a shot just wide of the left post.

While Wade Hamilton has been on the game day eighteen for many weeks as Adam Kwarasey has been unavailable, the youngster was pressed into duty for the Open Cup match because of a hamstring strain for Jake Gleeson. Wade handled himself well, and didn't appear overwhelmed by the circumstances.Portland Timbers

First Half Analysis: Much like the first half of the Houston match, the defense had some slow
to react moments, and you simply can't leave any player unmarked near the
box. The Galaxy made the home side pay
for their error, and then spent much of the rest of the half dealing with the
counter. Los Angeles was able to get
Lleget and McBean forward enough to keep the defense honest, while every pass
in the midfield for the Timbers was met with resistance and pressure. While Mattocks, Barmby and McInerney were
getting opportunities to attack the goal, the efforts were either to Diop or an
errant pass stopped the whole run in its tracks. Soccer can be cruel in the respect that one
mistake can be enough to decide a match, but Portland has a reputation of being
a good second half team, so there was still hope for a comeback.

Second Half Highlights: Porter left his charges as is to start the second half, and while there
was some promising movement to start, the best of the early chances were a
Nagbe cannon in the 46th minute that was pulled wide right of the
South Goal and another in the 53rd minute when McInerney uncorked a
shot that just flew over the cross bar after he shook past 2 Galaxy defenders
to create space. Barmby was also
incredibly active as well, but much like the first half, the Galaxy was
crushing down upon each Timber right after they crossed the midpitch line. Jack did scare Diop off a Peay cross that the
Galaxy headed from the box just outside, but the shot was just outside the
right post by mere inches. Porter ended
up bringing on the firepower late with Valeri replacing Grabavoy at the 64th
minute, Adi coming on for McInerney a minute later, and Melano replacing Barmby
at the 72nd minute, but the fortunes only produced a Valeri cross to
Adi in the 85th minute that the striker headed left of the left post
and clear. There was plenty of other
chances, but the Galaxy ended up doing enough to frustrate the Timbers offense
and keep the defense occupied, and Los Angeles now advances to host Seattle on
July 20th in the quarterfinals.

Taken during the Timbers' 2015 U.S. Open Cup run with Portland playing in Utah versus Real Salt Lake, it was another good outing for Timbers' defender Taylor Peay. The youngster continues to improve each appearance, and with some questions in the backline, could be be an opportunity to see him get more playing time over the next few weeks?Kim Raff/AP

Second Half Analysis: Unlike the Houston match where the offense showed better possession and
purpose, the Timbers offense was only able to peripherally threated the
Galaxy. They certainly came close, but
the Galaxy was able to do just enough to flummox the attackers. While McBean and Lleget didn't do much to
threaten Hamilton, the shots were enough to keep him on his toes and force the
defense to hang back in support. Arena
had to be literally laughing with glee because his entire plan was executed to
fruition - bring a mix of young players and veterans to Portland, fight hard by
frustrating the home side with near constant contact, score an early goal, and
walk away injury free to advance to the next round. Sometimes, it doesn't work,
but in this case, the Galaxy walk away pleased while the Timbers try to figure
out their next maneuver.

Final Thoughts: While I can understand the thinking that the result might not matter
much, the situation here was that Portland had plenty of good fortune with the
Open Cup draw - host the Galaxy at home with the chance to host Seattle or Real
Salt Lake later for a spot in the semi-finals.
Considering how their history in the USOC has been and understanding the
depth of the prize - a CONCACAF Champions League berth for next year's tourney,
prize money and other perks - I would have expected a Timbers side that was
fired up and ready to battle.
Unfortunately, what appeared to show up was a club that didn't seem to
be on the same page in any aspect of play, and their demeanor indicated a
desire to be anywhere but playing on the pitch.
Perhaps that's a harsh judgment in light of a very busy July with other
matches, but a win could have brought Portland a lot. Instead, it's another frustrating exit and
time to turn the attention to MLS league play, the Cascadia Cup, and CONCACAF
Champions League fixtures starting in August.

If you would have told me the Timbers would have just 1 shot on goal officially versus the Los Angeles Galaxy, and it would be from Jack McInerney, I wouldn't have believed it. Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Evaluations: Instead of doing a lengthy discussion, I would just like to point out
the players that I thought performed very well or above average on the
evening. From my perspective, Barmby
showed heart and hustle all evening before leaving, and it was unfortunate for
him not to have tallied a goal. Peay continues to play well when called upon,
and it will be interesting to see if his playing time increases over the coming
weeks. Finally, Hamilton didn't appear to be phased about being on the big
stage, and he made all the plays I'd expect from a goalkeeper plus his
distribution was solid.